Method of dry construction and set of elements for carrying out the same



Feb. 5, 1963 E. BAUDOUX 3,076,293

METHOD OF D ONSTRUCTION AND SET OF ELEMENTS CARRYING on": THE SAME Filed Oct. 50, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR EDMOND IBAUDOUX 6 ATTOR'N Y Feb. 5, 1963 E. BAUDOUX 3,076,293

METHOD OF DRY CONSTRUCTION AND SET OF ELEMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE SAME Filed Oct. 30, 1958 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 B2 25 C7/QC? 00 0 G6 a B3 20] A '53?3 35? y 50 In Q2 8 A 3 17 .2

0 d' g 7 B2 U U u I 14 D Q6 o B} O U0 DU 0 I Q o w 1: n D d (I 0 E1 [7 2kg g aze D C] Q 0 1 0 E DC] DU Q U Q U 57 o i D o [E3 Di;-

1 d i v D U QB U 000 D0 50 )NVENTOR EDM 0ND BAUDOUX Feb. 5, 1963 E. BAUDOUX 3,076,293

METHOD OF DRY CONSTRUCTION AND SET OF ELEMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE SAME Filed Oct. so, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR EDMOND BAUDOUX BY M 6? ATTORNEY Feb. 5, 1963 I E BAUDOUX 3,076,293

METHOD OF DRY CONSTRUCTION AND SET OF ELEMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE SAME Filed Oct. 50, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /N VENTOR EDMOND BAUJJOUX Feb. 5, 1963 E. BAUDOUX 3,076,293

METHOD OF DRY CONSTRUCTION AND SET OF ELEMENTS F0 ME R CARRYING OUT THE SA Filed Oct. 50, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 min, I 4 M 7| lNVENTOR EDMOND 13A UDO X @Y m 0: 224% ATTORNEY 3,076,293 7 Patented. Feb. 5, 1963 United States Patent ()fitice 3 076 293 METHOD OE DRY C(iNS'iRUCTION AND SET F ELEMENTS, FOR CARRYING OUT THE SAME Edmond Bandoux, ,Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to Etabl ssmeatD e. adu .L esht nste n a -s i n 0f Liechtenstein Filed Oct. 30, 195$,Ser. No. 770,833 Claims-priority, application. Switzerland. Nov. 15, 1957 2 Claims, (Cl.-50+w126) gether the elements with respect toeach other and bythe fact that the sites for the; openings and the spacings of the walls are determined-by a modulation table, so that the said sites and spacings correspond to the required sites and spacings and thatthe mounting of the walls and parti tions is effected solely by means of whole elements, such as delivered by -the manufacturer.

The invention alsohas for object a set of construction elements forcarrying out the method which ischaracterized by the fact that the seating faces for the walls and partitions and the side'faces-for the floors, of two adjoining elements comprise :parts which interpenetrate ensure the evenness of thersurface formed by-their setting up.

The accompanying drawing shows diagrammatically and by Way of example,two embodiments of constructions in the course of erection and the sets of construction elements utilized for. said constructions.

FIG. 1 is a partial'vicw of a construction being erected, certain parts being broken oif for more clearness of the drawing.

FIG. 2 is a partial view in plan of the walls and partitions in the course of construction.

FIGS. 3 to 25' show various typical; elements used in the constmction according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 26 is a partial view in section of a frame showing the fixing of the stiles. of the doors and windows.

FIG. 27 is a partial view in plan of a light construction in the course of erection.

FIG. 28 is a partial view in plan of the walls in the course of construction.

FIGS. 29. to 33 show elements utilized in the said light construction.

According to FIGS. 1 to 23, the construction is effected by means of elements of normal sizes, that is to say, that,

the elements necessary for the mounting of the construction do not exceed a Weight of 20 kgs. (about 44 lbs.) and have a length less than 40 cm. (about 16 ins.),,

(preferably 33 cm., i.e. about 13 ins.) and a height less than 30 cm. (about 12 ins.) (preferably 15cm i.e. about 6 ins.), while the width of the elements is chosen according to requirement.

FIGS. 3 to 25 of the accompanying drawing show a typical set of elements necessary and sufiicient to permit the construction of a building according to the method, object of the'invention. A

The. said set of elements comprises:

(a) Exterior primary wall elements or blocks A (FIG. 3) the facings 1 of which are rectangular, while the lower and upperseatingfaces 2 respectively comprise a groove 3 audit tapered and interlocking tongue 4. The said groove and the saidtongue are of corresponding cross section and are disposed in the-verticalsymmetry plane of the and which. determinetheir exact relative position and,

building element or block A. The end faces of the said element comprise throats 5, 6 and ribs 7, 8 of corresponding shape, so that each element has a double interlocking female end and male end. Theshapes of the crosssections of the tongues, ribs, throats and grooves are provided so as to to permitthe interlocking of the elements by merely bringing together the adjoining elements. The said element A also hasfour recesses or chambers 9 disposed on either sideof a verticalwall 10 which carries the tongue 4 and the groove 3. The said chambers issue into the two opposite seating faces and are connected two by two by. channels 11 provided, either on the upper seating face (FIG. 3) or .onthe lowerseating face.

(b Female framing elementsor, filler blocks 3;, B

(FIGS. 6 and 7) and malefilleror framingelements B3, B4 (FIGS. 8 and 9). One of the endfacesof the elements B and. B isho ws thethroatss. and the rib 7, while one oftheend facesof the. elements B and B, shows the throat 6" and the ribs 8. Thusthesaid endfaces fit into one or the other. of the end .faces of a wall element A, or into each other. The .said framing elements are also recessed and comprise chambers, 12issuing into their opposite seating faces and are also separated by a vertical wall 13 which is provided with the tongue 4 and the groove 3. The length b of the elementsB andB is greater than the length a of the, elements B and B so..as, to permit a staggering of thewertical joints j in,the.frontage. The second end face oftheelementsB h B B is smooth and has a vertical recess 14 adaptedjto receive the stiles M (FIG. '26) or" the Windows anddoors.

(c) An angle corner block elementC (FIGS. 4 and 5) Whichhastwo smooth outer facings 15 of, rectangular shape and iforming an angle ,of between them. On the other hand, each of its two end faces hasa vertical groove 16bounded on the .inner sideby a rib 17 and on the outer side by a wing Iii-forming a joint cover. The upper. and.

i (d) Anchoringeleme nts D D D (FIGS.- 10 and 11),

which. comprise a. lower seating face 2 2Iprovided with a groove 24 corresponding tothe tongues 4.of thewall ele ments A andfrarning elements B ,'B B3, B The said anchoringelernenthastwo legs 25. and 26, approximately perpendicular to the seating face 22. andwhich form between them a throat 27. The outerface of theinner leg 25 has sheaths 28;parallel to theseating surface 22. The inner and outer legs 25 and 26 of. the element. D provided for the internal partition-walls-are of. equal height 11 while the wing 26 of the element D -providedlfor the outer walls-has a height I1 greater than the height h of the wing 25. The wing 26 of. the element D is furthermore provided with an acroterium 30 servingas a low wall-for the terraces.

(e) Closing elements E (FIG. 12) of ageneral T-square shape, and of whichthe edge of one of the wings comprises a fillet 31 adapted to fitv into thegroove 29 of the flange D extending inwardly fromv the bottom of the anchoring element. The secondwing of the said element latter correspond to a wholenumber ofelements'A and B.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the length a of the elements B and B is equal to two thirds of the length b of the elements B and B which is equal to the length c of the elements A and the said length a is equal to the length d of the anchoring elements D. The said lengths are chosen so that the distance 1 of the joints 1' is equal for example to 33 cm. (about 12.87 inches) and that the distance g of an offset joint is equal, for example, to 11 cm. (about 4.29 inches). By fitting up the elements A, B B B B in the manner shown in FIG. 1, the outer supporting walls and the intermediate supporting walls (internal partition-walls) are mounted by providing at the desired places openings for the doors and windows the widths of which are also given by the modulation table.

As shown in PEG. 2, one begins by placing an angle element C, then one inserts into each of its grooves 16 the end provided with the groove 14 of a male or female framing element, long or short. The ribs 17 of the angle element fit into the grooves 14 of the said two framing elements and the wings 18 of the angle elements cover a part of the facing of each framing element. Wall elements A are then installed by fitting their male and female ends into each other, and in the ends of the said framing elements, then, at the place of an opening, one again places a framing element the smooth end face of which forms a part of the side wall of the said opening. On the first row of elements thus fitted up, is placed a second row of elements taking care to displace the joints j, which is easily done due to the framing elements of two different lengths.

In order to bestow greater rigidity on the construction, concrete (on occasion reinforced) may be poured in the channels 21 so as to constitute angle posts (FIG. 2).

Concrete (on occasion reinforced) may also be poured into the empty spaces 9 of the elements A of which two out of four coincide along the whole height of the Wall, so as to form stiffening posts 23a.

The tongues 4- f the wall and framing elements engage in the grooves 3 of the wall and framing elements of the higher row. Similarly, the tongues 19 of the angle elements engage in the corresponding grooves 20. Thus, each wall element is in contact with its six adjoining elements, so that there is obtained sufficient rigidity and imperviousness to render superfluous the use of mortar generally utilized in order to bind the elements one with the other.

The intermediate supporting walls are mounted in the same manner (FIG. 2) and it will be seen that due to the fact that the spacings of the outer walls have been chosen from the modulation table so as to correspond to a whole number of typical elements, the said inner walls may be mounted without it being necessary to cut the elements in their length. Openings may also be provided in the intermediate supporting walls the dimensions of which are given by the modulation table, as well as their positions.

In the case of many storied buildings, pillars N may also be provided, disposed at regular intervals or not, in the outer and intermediate supporting Walls. The said pillars are formed by means of pillar elements (FIG. 25) which constitute in fact shutterings. The said element N comprises a channel 74 of large dimensions, issuing into its two opposite seating faces. The upper seating face has two tongues 4 and 4a situated in the extension of each other and the lower seating face comprises two corresponding grooves 3 and 3a. The interpenetrating slots and tongues of the superposed elements define the relative positions of the elements in two perpendicular directions, so that the opposite side faces 75 of the said elements are all situated in two parallel vertical planes, while the end faces 76 are situated in two parallel vertical planes but perpendicular to the planes of the side faces 75.

As shown in FIG. 2, the said elements of a length a of 44 cm., that is about 17.10 inches (in the case of wall elements of 33 cm. i.e. about 12.87 inches) may be fitted in a supporting wall, its two end faces being respectively in contact with an element B of 22 cm. (about 8.72 inches) and an element B of 33 cm. (about 12.87

3 inches). The channel 74- is filled with reinforced concrete. The said pillar elements are placed on the sites determined by the modulation table. 7

On the top of the said outer and intermediate supporting walls are placed clamping or floor anchoring elements D, or D the groove 24- of which fits upon the tongues 4 of the wall and framing elements. Concrete is then poured up to the height of the legs 25 in the continuous throat 27 formed by the said anchoring elements D and D by sinking in the concrete one or several stiffening irons 3 -S- (FTG. 1). In this manner, all the supporting walls are tied one to the other and to the angle posts 23. In the angles of the outer walls, angle elements D (FlG. 13) are placed in order to avoid the mounting of a shuttering and so that the outer frontage of the construction has a homogeneous aspect.

The lintels L (FIG. 1) covering the openings made in the said walls are produced by means of anchoring elements shown generally as D (FIG. ll) wherein the flanges comprise a fillistcr 35 necessary for the fixing of the woodwork.

The lower side of the openings left in the outer walls for the windows is lined by means of supporting elements F (FIG. 14) the width 0 of which is also chosen so that in each opening of a dimension obtained by the modulation table, a whole number of elements may be laid. The said supporting elements have a seating face 37 provided with a groove 38 engaging on the tongues 4 of the wall elements, so that the inner face 36 of the said supporting element is automatically maintained in the plane of the inner face of the wall.

The floors comprise the following elements:

(1) Beams P (FIG. 1) formed by beam elements [1 (FIG. 15) placed side by side and having a general U shape in the throat of which is poured concrete in which stiffening irons 39 are sunk. The said beams, preferably prepared in advance, are placed on supporting faces constituted by the edges 49 of legs 25 of the anchoring elements. The outer faces of the U-shaped wings, formed by each beam element, have a supporting surface 41.

(2) Transoms H (FIG. 16) whose end faces are of a shape corresponding to the outer side faces of the beams P and are also each provided with a supporting face 43. Each transom comprises .a central core 44- situated in its horizontal median plane, and parallel channels 42 issuing upon its two side faces. The central core is provided at one of its ends with a tongue 45 and at its other end with a groove 46 of corresponding shape.

I The mounting of the flooring is carried out as folows:

The beams P are laid on the supporting faces 40, and then are placed the transoms H, the supporting faces 45 of which rest on the supporting faces 41 of the beams, while the tongue 45 and the groove 46 of the adjoining transoms fit into each other. The thickness i of the transoms is equal to the height k of the beams and the supporting faces 41 and 43 are so disposed that the lower races of the transoms are situated exactly in the plane of the lower faces of the beams. Consequently, the upper faces of the transoms are also exactly in the plane of the upper faces of the beams, and it follows that there IS automatically obtained a smooth and clean floor and ceiling, so that it is no longer necessary to provide a plastering of the ceilings and that by taking care to place sufiic1ent stiffening irons in the concrete of the beams, the compression capping generally cast in order to form the floor may be eliminated.

The floor being laid, between the ends of the transoms face to face and between the ends of the transoms and the legs 26 of the anchoring elements, concrete is poured in which are sunk irons 47 to which are hooked the ends of the stiffening irons 59 of the beams P. The said concrete binds itself to that of the beams P, partly penetrates into the channels 42 of the transoms and binds itself to the concrete poured into the semi-cylindrical channels 21 of the angle elements C. Consequently, the said anchoring elements bind the angle posts 23 one to the other and to the beams P of the floor, so that an extremely rigid unit is produced. I

a It is obvious that the length r of the beam elements p as well as the length m and the width n of the transoms are chosen so that each beam P is constituted by a whole number of elements p whatever the' spacing of the supporting walls, so that a whole number of transoms H may be laid on the beams P between the supportingwalls, and so that a whole number of transom spans may be placed between the supporting walls. Thus, the modulation table also gives the number'of spans, the number of beam elements p in each beam and the number of transoms in each span. u

FIGS. 17 to. 22 show the elements provided for the construction of the partitions. The said elements are the following: i h a h (l) Partitions elements F and F '(FIGS. '17 and 18) which comprise a male-endfaceprovided with a rib 48 and a female end face having a throat 49. The said throat and the saidrib are disposed symmetrically relatively to a longitudinal symmetry plane of the element. Channels 50 cross the said element and issue upon its two opposite seating faces which are respectively provided with a tongue 51 and a correspondingly shaped groove 52 (FIG. 19-).

The elements Fi have a lengthlequal to double the length of-the elements F-in order to permit the mounting of the partitions with crossed joints. The elements F are of a length equal to the wall elements A.

(2) 'Top elements G and G (FIGS. 20 and 21) for the production of the door openings. The said elements have a female end face comprising a throat 53 adapted to fit upon the ribs. 48 of the male ends of the elements F and F The second end of the said elementsis' provided with a groove 49 adapted to secure the stiles of the doors. The opposite seating faces of the said elements are provided respectively. with the groove 52 (FIG. 19) and the tongue 51.

(3) A framing element I (FIG. 22) of greater width than the elements F F and G G and which comprise a female end face having a throat 54 the width q of which corresponds to the widthof a partition element. Its other'end is provided witlra groove 55 for securing the woodwork. The seating-faces of the said elementare respectively provided with the groove 51 and the slot'52.

As shown in-FIG. 2, the mounting-of the partitions is carried out'in the samemanner asthe mounting of the supporting walls-by fitting up. the various elements described above-according to themodulation table with a view to adapting the openings .of desired dimensions to the desired sites by means ofa whole number of typical elements.

The vertical walls of the openings are formed either by means of the top elements G G or bymeans of the framing elements I.

- stiffening posts may be provided'by pouring concrete on occasion reinforced, into the channels 50 of the partition elements, of which one out of two correspond to each other along ,thewhole height of the partition.

Anchoring posts 57 may be poured at right angles with the connections between the partitions, internal partition walls, outer walls (FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 1, installation piping 58, on occasion insulated, is laid, on the one hand horizontally in the service duct formed by the channels 28 of the flanges D and in the channels 42 of the floor transoms which may communicate with the said channels of the service duct and, on the other hand vertically in the channels 9 of the wall elements. At the place of a junction 59, the anchoring element D or D is replaced by an anchoring element D (FIG. 23) which has no grooves, in order to provide a larger space for the mounting of the junction 59. A closing element E provides, together with said passage for the pipe.

anchoring element D a service duct, and permits of sealing the recess 60 of the junction.

In order to avoid making holes in thewall for the passage of the piping to the tap system, special wall elements A (FIG. 24) comprising a sealing plate A are provided to be inserted into the wall at the places indicated by the architect. A notch, made during the mounting in the lower or upper edge of the plate A offers a Similarly, iron fittings 61 for supporting the sinks, the washstands, etc. may be laid during the mounting of the walls and partitions by cutting into the bearing faces of the wall elements, in order to provide a housing for the said iron fittings which are maintained in place without sealing, merely by the weight of the elements covering thesame.

The stiles M of the doors and windows are fixed in the grooves 14- of the framing elements, by means of pressure devices (H6. 26). The stile M, of a door or of a window, is engaged in the groove 14 and its position inside the said groove is determined by a supporting face 62 of an iron fitting 63 the end of which bears against the bottom of the said groove. A jacko4, comprising a base 65, a bolt 66 and a nut 67 permits of wedging the stile M in the said groove 14. A moulding 71 engaged in a groove 70, made in the stile M and nailed into the joints of the framing elements, wholly seals the groove 14.

When a light and very cheap building is to'be constructed, it is possible to simplify yetmore the production as shown in FIGS. 27 to 33.

For such light constructions, it is suilicient to provide the following construction elements:

(1) Wall elements A and A (FIGS. 29 and 30) of a very similar conception to the partition elements F above described, but of a greater width, for example 5' inches and which comprise a central core like the wall elements A. The element A has a length which is double that of the element A so as'to permit the mounting of-the-walls with crossed joints.

(2) A framing element B (FIG. 31) comprising an end face provided with a groove 72 in which may slidingly fit the male or female side of the elements A and A The other end face comprises the groove 14- for fixing the woodwork.

(3) An angle element C (FIG. 32) each end of which comprises a groove 73 into which mayfit the male or female end of the elements A and A (4) Anchoring elements D and D (FIG. 33) similar to the anchoring elements D and D described above, but without grooves or a flange.

The fitting up of the said various elements is effected as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and as clearly shown in FIGS. 27 and 28.

The floors are supported as in ordinary construction by beams P in wood the ends of which rest on the edges of the legs of the anchoring elements. One could however also lay a floor such as described above.

In practice, all the elements described above and used for construction are moulded of the same material so as to obtain clean surfaces and clear ridges, as well as dimensions which are practicallyconstant from one element to the other. There is thus obtained a perfect installation of the various elements with the fitting of adjoining elements by merely bringing the same together. Moreover, the tongues engaged in the grooves automatically determine the relative positions of the various elements; so that the outer and inner surfaces of the construction are absolutely plane.

The inner surfaces may consequently remain rough and on occasion be covered with a coating of very small thickness (some tenths of a millimeter, i.e., one or two tenths of an inch), or with a paint.

Satisfactory results have been obtained with the coating or the paint known under the trade name of Anaplan.

For the frontages, if it is desired to retain the natural aspect of the material in the case of hollow joints, it is sufiicient to proceed with a jointing (on occasion with a coloured mortar), and then apply a waterproof paint based on silicon, for example. After jointing one may obviously consider colouring the Whole of the frontages by application of a paint, for example.

As shown in the accompanying drawing, the anchoring elements always have sharp joints, as well as the angle elements, which stresses the architecture of the whole.

On the other hand, the accuracy ensured by the method permits the preparation inthe workshop of the less important work, thus limiting the work on the building site to the joining of the various pipings and to the trials of the latter.

As a result of the finish of its constitutive elements, the flooring appears to be the ideal support for plastic or similar floors also for moquettes. Furthermore, the said flooring permits of doing without the plastering of the ceilings, which is always a reason for delay in the forwarding of the work. The said ceilings may be covered with a coating such as the one applied to the walls and the partitions (Anaplan).

All the said particularities permit of reducing, to a great extent, the duration of the carrying out of the construction as well as its total cost as compared with the methods of construction employed up to the present.

The elements described permit the execution of the whole range of constructions, from the simple garage or outbuilding, to the building with numerous stories.

The simplicity of the fitting up of the elements permits the use of non specializedman-power and cuts down the importance of the specialized trade associations for the finishing work.

Due to the relatively small lengths of the construction elements which are of the current size of agglomerate blocks used actually and which should not exceed 40 cm. (about 15.6 inches) it is possible, while preserving for the whole execution of the building a well determined modulation, to satisfy practically all requirements, so that the architect is not hindered in the architectural conception of the building and may obtain all the effects desired and as varied as in actual conceptions. On the other hand, all the mounting is effected according to a pro-established plan, which facilitates the provisioning of materials and accelerates the construction.

It goes without saying that the method of construction described may also be applied to the execution of models, with the help of the construction elements described, moulded, for example, in synthetic material in reduced sizes, for example, one tenth or one twentieth of normal size. In this manner, models are produced which are the exact replica, but to a reduced scale, of the construction. Similarly, the set of elements described, but of reduced size, may be used as a toy permitting the production of various constructions, according to the method described.

I claim:

1. A pre-calculated floor construction for buildings having opposite walls of given spacing, comprising, in combination, anchoring elements resting on top of said walls and of substantially U-shaped cross section to provide spaced inner and outer legs, a bearing surface provided on at least one of said legs, beam elements of aligned substantially U-shaped cross section juxtaposed to form a continuous concrete receiving trough, said beam elements having a length equal to a submultiple of the distance separating the bearing surfaces of anchoring elements disposed on top of said opposite walls, supporting faces extending on both sides along the length of said beam elements, transoms Whose height is equal to the height of said beam elements, supports provided on one pair of opposite edges of said transoms, said supports resting on related supporting faces of two adjacent parallel beam elements, and a tongue and groove provided on the other pair of opposite edges of said transoms interfitting respectively with the corresponding formations of the adjacent transoms, the portions of said beam elements and transoms adjacent said walls being supported by said bearing surfaces on said legs, the width of said transoms being a submultiple of the said distance separating the bearing surfaces of anchoring elements disposed on top of said opposite walls perpendicular to said beams, the distance corresponding to the sum of the length of a transom and of the width of a beam element being equal to a submultiple of the distance separating the bearing surfaces of anchoring elements disposed on top of two adjacent walls parallel to said beams, said inner legs of said anchoring elements being of less height than said outer legs, channels provided on the outer faces of said inner legs, flanges extending from the bottom of said anchoring elements to the inner edge of the walls and having grooves in the upper surface thereof adjacent said channels, a closing element having a fillet along its bottom edge and an inwardly projecting wing adjacent its upper edge, said fillet fitted into said groove in said flange and said wing abutting said inner leg whereby the hollow area bounded by said channels, flange and closing element provides a service duct in said walls, and the floor formed by said beams and said transoms presents a flat surface and comprises a whole number of beam elements and transoms covering without gaps the surface between the said bearing surfaces of said anchoring elements disposed on said opposite walls.

2. A floor construction according to claim 1, in which, internal passages are provided in said transoms extending parallel to said beam elements and mating with the corresponding passages of the adjacent transoms to form continuous horizontal passages opening into the channels of said anchoring elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 736,588 Edmonds Aug. 18, 1903 788,283 Schall Apr. 25, 1905 964,160 Hammett July 12, 1910 1,041,401 Anderson Oct. 15, 1912 1,275,345 Wickey Aug. 13, 1918 1,488,670 Grundy Apr. 1, 1.924 1,545,173 Trost July 7, 1925 1,863,543 Palmer June 14, 1932 1,981,327 Rimmer Nov. 20, 1934 2,082,457 Martinichio June 1, 1937 2,233,089 Adler Feb. 25, 1941- 2,250,319 Wright July 22, 1941 2,328,453 Hopewell Aug. 31, 1943 2,411,477 Straight Nov. 19, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 133,809 Australia Aug. 8, 1949 830,406 Germany Feb. 4, l952 1,030,985 France Mar. 18, 1953 706,227 Great Britain 1954 917,568 Germany Sept. 6, 1954 

1. A PRE-CALCULATED FLOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDINGS HAVING OPPOSITE WALLS OF GIVEN SPACING, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, ANCHORING ELEMENTS RESTING ON TOP OF SAID WALLS AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CROSS SECTION TO PROVIDE SPACED INNER AND OUTER LEGS, A BEARING SURFACE PROVIDED ON AT LEAST ONE OF SAID LEGS, BEAM ELEMENTS OF ALIGNED SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CROSS SECTION JUXTAPOSED TO FORM A CONTINUOUS CONCRETE RECEIVING TROUGH, SAID BEAM ELEMENTS HAVING A LENGTH EQUAL TO A SUBMULTIPLE OF THE DISTANCE SEPARATING THE BEARING SURFACES OF ANCHORING ELEMENTS DISPOSED ON TOP OF SAID OPPOSITE WALLS, SUPPORTING FACES EXTENDING ON BOTH SIDES ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID BEAM ELEMENTS, TRANSOMS WHOSE HEIGHT IS EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF SAID BEAM ELEMENTS, SUPPORTS PROVIDED ON ONE PAIR OF OPPOSITE EDGES OF SAID TRANSOMS, SAID SUPPORTS RESTING ON RELATED SUPPORTING FACES OF TWO ADJACENT PARALLEL BEAM ELEMENTS, AND A TONGUE AND GROOVE PROVIDED ON THE OTHER PAIR OF OPPOSITE EDGES OF SAID TRANSOMS INTERFITTING RESPECTIVELY WITH THE CORRESPONDING FORMATIONS OF THE ADJACENT TRANSOMS, THE PORTIONS OF SAID BEAM ELEMENTS AND TRANSOMS ADJACENT SAID WALLS BEING SUPPORTED BY SAID BEARING SURFACES ON SAID LEGS, THE WIDTH OF SAID TRANSOMS BEING A SUBMULTIPLE OF THE SAID DISTANCE SEPARATING THE BEARING SURFACES OF ANCHORING ELEMENTS DISPOSED ON TOP OF SAID OPPOSITE WALLS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID BEAMS, THE DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE SUM OF THE LENGTH OF A TRANSOM AND OF THE WIDTH OF A BEAM ELEMENT BEING EQUAL TO A SUBMULTIPLE OF THE DISTANCE SEPARATING THE BEARING SURFACES OF ANCHORING ELEMENTS DISPOSED ON TOP OF TWO ADJACENT WALLS PARALLEL TO SAID BEAMS, SAID INNER LEGS OF SAID ANCHORING ELEMENTS BEING OF LESS HEIGHT THAN SAID OUTER LEGS, CHANNELS PROVIDED ON THE OUTER FACES OF SAID INNER LEGS, FLANGES EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID ANCHORING ELEMENTS TO THE INNER EDGE OF THE WALLS AND HAVING GROOVES IN THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF ADJACENT SAID CHANNELS, A CLOSING ELEMENT HAVING A FILLET ALONG ITS BOTTOM EDGE AND AN INWARDLY PROJECTING WING ADJACENT ITS UPPER EDGE, SAID FILLET FITTED INTO SAID GROOVE IN SAID FLANGE AND SAID WING ABUTTING SAID INNER LEG WHEREBY THE HOLLOW AREA BOUNDED BY SAID CHANNELS, FLANGE AND CLOSING ELEMENT PROVIDES A SERVICE DUCT IN SAID WALLS, AND THE FLOOR FORMED BY SAID BEAMS AND SAID TRANSOMS PRESENTS A FLAT SURFACE AND COMPRISES A WHOLE NUMBER OF BEAM ELEMENTS AND TRANSOMS COVERING WITHOUT GAPS THE SURFACE BETWEEN THE SAID BEARING SURFACES OF SAID ANCHORING ELEMENTS DISPOSED ON SAID OPPOSITE WALLS. 